Renovation

Monday, November 29th, 2010

According to Websters.com, renovation is defined as such: “the act of improving by renewing and restoring”.  While it may not appear as though progress is being made on the facelift of all my work area, it certainly is.  What I mean is, while it’s obvious that the men’s locker room showers are now beautifully tiled versus being marred by black mold and crumbling drywall, some other areas have yet to show a marked improvement.  In fact, they may never be very visibly improved.  My office, for example, is a hot mess with crap all over the place.  What you don’t realize at first glance, however, is that I just hauled a big mound of paper off to the recycling bins, putting what gets to say back into drawers in a much tidier manner then they’d been previously.  Likewise, the overflowing garbage can is a symbol of the fact that I’m letting go of what no longer serves me.  Anything about which I feel the same way that still has value will be donated to serve someone else.  Also, as I methodically pore through boxes and drawers, I may appear to be going slowly because I am reluctant and procrastinating.  While that’s true on some level, when I’m doing that I’m at home, not at my office.  Once I get my butt there, however, I’m all about business—deciding who is going to make the cut, and who isn’t.  “Who” being files, books, office supplies, resources, and even décor.  Sometimes the decision is crystal clear as something that has been a pain in the butt or an eyesore of sorts is joyfully discarded or donated; OR, as something that clearly serves me well in a functional capacity, or for my enjoyment, or both, gets kept or repurposed.  But several times I get stumped.  I have to revert to the age-old Oprah question: “Have you used it in the last year?”, or some similar reasoning, to decide whether or not it will get to claim some of my precious space.  As I go, I thoroughly wipe down drawers and cabinets, ensuring a clean and hygienic home for all items that get to stay and continue to serve.

Might I suggest that we all renovate our lifestyles similarly?  First, take the time to review what you’ve been doing and decide whether or not it continues to serve you.  Or, rather, whether or not it continues to yield you the results you desire.  Take stock, then cast off what no longer gets the job done, keep what does, and find some way to decide on anything that falls in between.  For the latter you might ask yourself: “Is that convenient for me right now, results or not?” or “Is training at x-time of day working for my current schedule?” or even “Are my training partner and I still working well together?”  Heck, it could even be as simple as editing your iPod playlist!  Keep in mind that some changes might not be all that obvious or apparent to the eye.  For example, while you may change things up or down in your fitness program for the time being, you may not see a difference in your weight, but you may notice an improvement in your appearance all the same, or in the quality of your sleep.  Also consider that changes made that will work better for you now may need tweaking again in a few months.  Even in my office I know that I might set things up the way I think I will like to use them best, but then find in practice that I need to shift things around, or cut things down more, or add something to my work area to make it better for the way I work now.  Lifestyles are no different.

If it needs it, good luck in renovating your regimen.  Goodness knows, any overhaul—no matter how minor it seems—kicks up dust of some sort.  Keep your eye on the prize, knowing that weathering any transition nearly always ends up in an improvement, making the temporary discomfort totally worth it.  That’s what I keep telling myself when I’m creeped out and alone at the office on a holiday weekend having thoughts like “Why the {bleep} have I been keeping this around?” or “I wonder if this odd looking part/screw/piece is important…”  Most of the time, if it’s been that long and something has not been useful, it’s best to let go. 

Primary Foods

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving Day!

If your Thanksgiving is anything like mine, then you may also have experienced a crazy family dinner table with a ton of great conversation, mostly everyone talking over each other, but for the most part, quality family time and a table of great food and maybe not so great food.   Now, don’t get me wrong, my grandmother cooks up a storm and I have a great day making good choices from a table of amazing home cooked food.

Yet with some much of the focus on food during the holiday, or any day for that matter, I am left with one question for you today, and that is, what really feeds you?  Other than the food on your plate, I mean.

Here are two phrases to get excited about

Primary foods are what truly feed us and when they are balanced our lives are full and what we actually eat is secondary.

There are four groups to primary foods:

1.  Healthy relationships – The hardest primary food to keep balanced are our relationships, well for me anyway, this is a tough one.  Simply put, you cannot control what others think and feel, so all you can do is work to be the best you can be and stay true to what is in your heart.  Most of all stay focused on the positive, which is the fact that you can control your choices and make solid decisions to be good to yourself.

2.  Regular exercise – For those of you that are as intoxicated by movement as I am, this one is easier for me.  Balance is the key term when it comes to primary foods, so keep in mind that even though exercise is a great way to feed ourselves, too much can be just as bad as to little.  When our relationships are challenging some of us use exercise as a way to overeat.  I am guilty

3.  Desired career – As I have said before I am blessed to have a career that totally fills me up, I am good to go when it comes to my work.  Yet, so many people go to work everyday unhappy with what they are doing in their current career.  Some would say that a change in career is the hardest primary food because at least if you have a job that is paying the bills, then that is one thing you don’t have to worry about.  But a job that does not feed you fully can sometimes lead to feelings of depression, which can make it hard to get up and make good choices in regards to healthy relationships and regular exercise.  At the end of the day wouldn’t it be great to pay the bills and love what you do? Why can’t we have both?

4.  A spiritual practice – There are some many ways to create a spiritual practice, for myself I love to meditate and be outside in nature.  Whatever it maybe for you, take the time to make it part of your everyday life.

Do you have any imbalances with your primary foods?  If you do notice an imbalance, how do you feel about them?  What can you do to make changes in your primary foods?

Taking the time to simply write a journal entry or think about each of the following areas individually, and how they affect each other in your life can help to organize where you may need to full up in areas that are lacking.  Primary foods are the hardest to keep balanced for most people, but keep in mind that you have the control to make choices that are best for you.

Secondary foods are what you actually eat, your proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  They are the most common foods and what we focus on the most in our day-to-day lives. Observe how your primary foods affect your secondary foods, what do you notice about yourself, your body and your mind if you are off?

I invite you to look at your primary foods from a new perspective, as a form of nutrition.  Finding a beautiful balance of primary foods makes it easy to be good to your body when it comes to making choices in regards to your secondary foods.

What you focus on is what you create more of, so focus on strong primary foods and the secondary foods will be even more fun to enjoy

Have a great weekend!